CRAFTED RETAIL PROPERTY

John has spent most of his 18 years career “in-house” working for several international retail and leisure brands throughout Europe, the UK and South-East Asia. As an experienced retail property advisor, John uses his expertise to solely represent retailers. By doing so, he can fully advocate for his clients without any conflicts of interest, and can dedicate himself to working hand in hand with them to support their development.

 

Before founding Crafted, he was Head of Property for River Island, where he was responsible for the strategic growth and management of their UK and Irish portfolio. He established a reputation as an accomplished and creative negotiator, completing over 120 significant transactions between 2017 and 2021. Notably, he sourced and acquired the first River Island Kids standalone and "side by side" stores, which have proven to be very successful.

During his time with River Island, John was appointed to the committee of the Property Managers Association. In this role, John has energetically led the retail sector's lobbying of the Government on business rates reform also putting the retail sector's case to the media.

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Prior to working for River Island, John spent 4 years as Property Director for Jatomi Fitness, which operated a portfolio of over 50 fitness clubs across CEE, Turkey and South East Asia. Whilst there, he undertook the new market assessment, planning and negotiation of their entrance into the Thai market. Additionally, he also managed the refurbishment and relocation of several flagship clubs in Poland and the Czech Republic, with a multimillion Euro budget.

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John has also worked for, and on behalf of, amongst others, Arcadia Group, Sacoor Brothers and Johnny Rockets, within the UK and South East Asia